Learn about...​

Eligibility

Who could get this visa

assist a relative in providing this care to a member of their family unit living in their household.

your
relative (or their family member) has their medical condition assessed by
Bupa Medical Visa Services as being one which significantly affects them in attending to the practical aspects of daily life and which will need direct care for at least two years

your
relative cannot reasonably get the care they need from any other relative in Australia or from welfare, hospital or nursing community services in Australia

you are willing and able to provide substantial and continuing assistance

you should fully understand what kind of care or assistance your relative needs

you and your family members meet health and character requirements.

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Your relative in Australia

You can apply for this visa if the
relative who needs care or assistance is
usually resident in Australia. The relative must be your partner, child, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew (or step-equivalent).

Both this relative (and the member of their family who needs care, where applicable) must be either:

If you are applying for this visa so you can assist your relative care for a member of their family, they must both live in the same house.

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Health

You must meet certain
health requirements. The results are usually valid for 12 months. Do not arrange a health examination until we ask you to.

This also applies to all the members of your family unit included in your application, whether they are migrating or not.

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Character

You must meet certain
character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to.

This also applies to all members of your family unit listed in the application who are 16 years of age or older whether they are migrating or not.

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Australian Values Statement

If you are older than 18 years of age, you must sign an
Australian Values Statement to confirm that you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws. The statement is included in the visa application form. You must have read, or had explained to you, the
Life in Australia book before you sign the statement.

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Debts to the Australian Government

You must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government before this visa can be granted.

The visa

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About this visa

A Carer visa (subclass 116) is a permanent visa for people who want to live in Australia to provide substantial and continuing care or assistance for a
relative who either:

has a long-term medical condition that means they cannot look after themselves in practical aspects of daily life, or

needs permanent or long-term practical support to help them care for a member of their family in their household with such a medical condition.

The relative must not be able to reasonably obtain the care they need from any other relative or from welfare, hospital, nursing or community services in Australia.

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What this visa lets you do

It lets you and any family members who have been granted this visa to:

stay in Australia indefinitely as an Australian permanent resident

apply for Australian citizenship (if you are eligible)

travel to and from Australia as a permanent resident for five years from the date the visa is granted - after that time you will need to apply for another visa if you want to return to Australia.

Do not make arrangements to move to Australia. Do not leave your employment, sell your home or book travel arrangements until you are advised in writing that you have been granted a visa.

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Cost

From AUD 1,625

You might have to pay additional costs for:

additional applicant 18 and over

additional applicant under 18

The application charge for this visa is paid in two instalments. The first instalment is paid when the application is lodged. Payment of the second instalment will be requested just before the visa is granted.

You can ask to be considered for the second instalment to be reduced to nil if you are the carer and you can demonstrate that the charge is likely to cause you or the person being cared for severe financial hardship. You should ask in writing. You cannot ask for a reduction of the second instalment for other family members who are included in your application.

Other costs

You could have to pay other costs, such as the costs of health assessments and police certificates, or any other certificates or tests. You are responsible for making the necessary arrangements when we tell you to.

Use the Visa pricing estimator to estimate the cost of your application.

Sponsors

Who can sponsor a carer

you cannot reasonably obtain the care or assistance you need from any of your other relatives in Australia or from other services, such as welfare, a hospital, nurses, or community services in Australia.

You must show that you have tried to access all care options that are available in Australia before you decide to sponsor someone for this visa.

To be a sponsor, you must be:

a
relative of the person applying for this visa, or be the partner of the relative

18 years of age or older

usually resident in Australia

an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

You must sign an undertaking (an agreement) to give support, accommodation and financial assistance (if needed) for the first two years after the person applying for this visa arrives in Australia. This agreement includes any family members included in the visa application.

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Applying to be a sponsor

To sponsor someone to come to Australia to care for you or assist you, you must:

give the completed form to your relative to lodge with their visa application.

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Sponsor obligations

For two years after your relative(s) arrives in Australia, you must help them and their accompanying family members settle in Australia by providing (if necessary):

support

accommodation

financial assistance

Use the following form if you want to change information you provided in your sponsorship application form:

Form 1023 - Notification of incorrect answer(s) (99 kB PDF) — if you want to correct information you provided in your visa application

Follow these steps

Before you apply

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Other Family Visa Queue

The Australian Government limits the number of Carer visas it grants each year. See
Other Family Visa Queue for more information.

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Medical assessment of the person needing care

Your relative's medical condition (or that of a member of their family unit) must be
assessed by
Bupa Medical Visa Services before we can make a decision about your visa application.

Your application cannot be accepted unless you provide evidence that you or your relative have at least arranged to start the Bupa Medical Visa Services assessment process.

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Your sponsor

To apply for this visa, you need a sponsor. This person must be the relative who needs the care or assistance, or their partner. They must sign an undertaking (an agreement) to give you support, accommodation and financial assistance (if you need it) for two years after you first arrive in Australia. This agreement includes any family members you include in your application.

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Your passport

If you plan to get a new passport, you should do so before applying for your visa. In most cases, you and your family members must have valid passports to be granted this visa.

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No further stay condition

You cannot apply for this visa if you already hold another visa that has a ‘No further stay’ condition.

Contact us if you are not sure whether your current visa conditions prevent you from applying for a further visa while you are in Australia.

Gather documents

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Documents

Prepare your documents

You need to provide documents to support your application for this visa. We can make a decision using the information you provide when you lodge your application. It is in your interest to provide as much information as possible with your application.

Provide certified copies of original documents. Do not include original documents unless we specifically ask for them. Police certificates should be original documents. Documents not in English must be accompanied by accredited English translations.

Apply

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Apply for the visa

Lodge your application at one of the immigration offices outside Australia, which will tell you how you can pay. There is also further information available on the
methods of payment accepted by
our offices.

You must pay the first instalment of the visa application charge when you make your application. You can pay by credit card, debit card, bank cheque or money order made payable to the Department of Home Affairs.

You and anyone included as an applicant in your application must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

Tell us of changes

Report changes in your circumstances

Tell us if your circumstances change after you have applied for this visa. This includes a new residential address, a new passport, or a pregnancy, birth or death in your family.

Examples of changes you must report:

your residential address changes for more than 14 days

details of your family members change (for example: births, deaths, changes in dependency, and relationship status)

the person authorised to act on your behalf changes

you or your family member intend to travel to or from Australia while your visa application is being processed

the circumstances of your sponsor change.

You can use the following forms:

Form 929 - Change of address and/or passport details (86 kB PDF) — if either of you moves to a new address or change your passport

Form 1022 - Notification of changes in circumstances (77 kB PDF) — if there are other changes in your circumstances.

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Withdrawing your visa application

You can withdraw the application at any time before we make a decision about it. To do this, send us a letter or email to ask for the withdrawal. Your request must include your full name, date of birth and date of your application. If you know it, you should also include the number we gave you when you applied – this could be a file reference number, client ID, or a Transaction Reference Number.

Applicants who are 18 years of age or older must sign the letter of withdrawal or send a separate email or letter. We will not usually refund the visa application charge.

You can remove one or more applicants and still continue with your visa application. Let us know in writing if you wish to do this. Include the signature of the person you are removing from your application if they are 18 years or older.

The following Visa Pricing Estimator requires you to answer the questions as accurately as possible to provide you with an estimate for lodging a visa application. The estimator might not include the second instalment of the visa application charge which is payable for some visas. Please note this is an estimate for a visa application, if you have already lodged your application and you want to change/add applicants please refer to the Visa Pricing Table. The Visa Pricing Estimator will give you an estimate of the charges you may need to pay to lodge a visa application. This is paid after you have made your application but before the visa can be granted. Read the department's full disclaimer. The Commonwealth of Australia does not guarantee the accuracy, currency or completeness of any material in the Visa Pricing Estimator.